In his final course of Gifford Lectures, delivered at the University of Glasgow in 1892, F. Max Müller concentrates on the essential unity or oneness of the objective Infinite in nature (God) and the subjective Infinite in man (soul), which is the final consummation of all religious and philosophical endeavours. Much time is spent discussing the relation of the soul to Brahman in the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta, and of similar strains in the Sufi branch of Islam.

F. Max Müller’s second round of Gifford Lectures, delivered before the University of Glasgow in the beginning of 1890, builds on the introductory material laid out in his first course, Natural Religion, now taking as his focus Physical Religion. Müller defines physical religion as a worship of the powers of nature.

Anthropological Religion, F. Max Müller’s third course of Gifford Lectures, concerns the study of that historical manifestation of natural religion founded upon the nature of man; more precisely, upon the discovery of some divine or infinite character within man, beyond the material body. Through the comparative study of conceptions of the soul and the afterlife, Müller considers instances of ancestor worship as likely the earliest indication of humankind’s recognition of something not merely human, something not far removed from the divine, in man.

Part 1 of this volume is a discussion of aspects of religion in general: moral, social, magical. Part 2 is an account of the development of the religion of the people of Israel to Temple Judaism, and of the influence on its formulation of law, prophecy, and eschatology. Part 3 is a historical analysis of the development of Christianity from the ‘historic Jesus’ to ‘the Christ of the Creed’.

W. P. Paterson’s The Nature of Religion assesses the place and importance of religion—its diversity and sometimes seeming incoherence—in human history and experience. Beginning from the history of religions, Paterson argues toward the practical efficacy and truthfulness of theism. In a manner faithful to his role and stature as a Scottish divine, his apologetic issues with particular regard for the Christian faith but also with noted interest in the other theistic religions of the world. He recognizes the complexity of religion in its relation to the immense variety of human personality, temperament, experience and individual and social motivations.

Symbolism and Belief and Holy Images, based on Bevan’s Gifford Lectures, examines the relationship of symbolical conceptions to unseen Reality or Divine Being, explaining how religious beliefs have been interpreted literally or/and symbolically. He reviews the different approaches to religious symbols from the ancient Greek philosophy through the medieval period to contemporary world religions. Symbolism is well balanced in the sense that it analyzes concrete symbols like height, time, light, spirit and the wrath of God, while discussing general theories of religious symbols and concluding that belief in God can be justified not by reason but by faith alone. Holy Images deals with idolatry and image-worship in ancient paganism and in Christianity.

Symbolism and Belief and Holy Images, based on Bevan’s Gifford Lectures, examines the relationship of symbolical conceptions to unseen Reality or Divine Being, explaining how religious beliefs have been interpreted literally or/and symbolically. He reviews the different approaches to religious symbols from the ancient Greek philosophy through the medieval period to contemporary world religions. Symbolism is well balanced in the sense that it analyzes concrete symbols like height, time, light, spirit and the wrath of God, while discussing general theories of religious symbols and concluding that belief in God can be justified not by reason but by faith alone. Holy Images deals with idolatry and image-worship in ancient paganism and in Christianity.

As the first half of a two-year series, these lectures concern the Christian cultural history of Europe with a level of detail which the lectures on 'Religion and Culture' (1947) could not accommodate. They focus on the Roman adoption of Christianity and the influence of these developments on northern European culture during the early medieval period. As the second half of a two-year lecture series, these lectures focus on the middle and late medieval periods. Contrary to their common handle, the 'dark ages' of European history constitute a verdant period of religious culture. They focus on the institutions of European society for which Christianity is largely responsible, including civic organization, universities, and professional guilds.

Humanism fails to withstand the radical secularization of the humanist tradition. These lectures discuss the historical role of religion and religious knowledge in society, the need to study the phenomenon of religion as a source of cultural knowledge, and the potential of spiritual life to operate as an instrument of cultural change.

Reconciliation and Religion is the second course of Gifford Lectures given by H. H. Farmer in 1951. Left unpublished until 1998, Farmer never felt completely satisfied with the reception of these lectures, even though they provide much of the theological underpinning for his previous course of lectures, Revelation and Religion, presented in 1950. In this volume, Farmer provides a survey of the uniqueness of the Christian message of reconciliation in what continues to be an expressly Christian interpretation of religion.